David duncan esson



(No Model.)`

D. D. BSSON. COMBUSTIBLE coMPoUND.

No. 580,612. PatentedApr. 13, 1897.

WI E55E5 UNITED STATES PATENT EEicE.

DAVID DUNCAN ESSON, OF FAVERSI'IAM, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THF. ESSON- MOTOR, LIMITED, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

COMBUSTIBLE COMPOUND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 580,612, dated April 13, 1897.

Application tiled November 7, 1896. Serial No. 611,372. (No specimens.)

To all whom t may conceive; o

Be it known that I, DAvrD DUNCAN EssoN, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Favershani, in the county of Kent, England, have invented a new and useful Improved Combustible Compound or Fuel, of which the following' is a speciiication.

My invention relates to a combustible compound or fuel capable ot' burning` in a closed chamber without the addition of air and, if desired, in contact with water, and ot' giving oft' large volumes of gas for maintaining a high pressure.

My improved compound contains nitroglycerin, dry guncotton, Vaseline, and camphor. In practice I have found it advantageous to mix these ingredients in the following` proportions, viz: nitroglycerin, fifty-live parts by weight; dry guncotton, thirty parts by weight; vaseline, ten parts by weight; camphor, 'live parts by weight.

The cam phor serves to delay the combustion of the explosive ingredients, so that the production of the gases ot' combustion is not so sudden as to cause an explosion, and by increasing or diminishing the proportion of camphor the combustion can be correspondingly retarded or accelerated. In combining these ingredients I prefer to mix intimately the nitroglycerin, guncotton, and a portion of the vaseline and to use the other portion of the vaseline and the camphor a coating for the other part of the compound.

In using my compound the mixture of nitroglycerin, guncotton, and part of the vaseline is preferably made up in the form of rods or sticks which are placed singly or in groups in tubes or the like, the mixture of camphor and vaseline serving to ill the spaces around and between the said rods or sticks and the tubes.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a forni of apparatus which may be advantageously employed in usin my improved material for the generation of fluid-pressure.

In the said drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of thc apparatus. Figs. 2 and 3 are opposite end elevations of the same. Fig. t is a detail sectional view of one of the feeding-tubes adjacent to its inner end. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view otone of said tubes, showing several rods of my combustible compound placed therein.

In the drawings, c represents an inclosed chamber, provided at one end with a tubeplate b, through which extends the ends of a series of tubes a, said tubes being preferably screwed into threaded apertures in the plate b. The opposite end of the chamber c is provided with an aperture, fitted with a screw-nipple d, through which extends two tubes e j', the former serving to convey water into the chamber c and the latter serving as a dischargepassage for said chamber. The pipe e is formed into a series of coils within the chamber c and is provided at its inner end with a rose or spray-nozzle y.

The inner end of each tube a is provided in this instance with a disk h, held in place by a ring or collar t', screwed onto the end of the tube a, and j represents a disk or packing of asbestos or other non-heat-conducting material to prevent the heat in the chamber c from prematurely igniting my combustible compound. I also provide igniting devices for the tubes a, so that the combustible material within the same can be ignited singly or simultaneously, as desired. In the drawings I have shown each tube provided with electric wires 7r- 75 for conveying electricity and producing a spark within the tube at a point adjacent to its mouth for the purpose of igniting the material therein.

In operation the rods or sticks of my combustible compound are placedin the tubes a. Each tube may contain a single rod, or, as shown in Fig. 5, I may place a number of small rods in the tube and fill the intervening spaces with the mixture of camphor and vaseline, as indicated. The material in one tube (or several, if preferred) is ignited by means of an electric spark or otherwise, thereby blowing off the disk h and asbestos j and allowing the hot gases from the combustible material, which burns slowly and without explosion, to pass into the chamber c. Wa-

ter is introduced into the chamber o through4 the pipe c, becomes heated in passing through the coil which is surrounded by the hot gas, and is injected by the nozzle gin the form of spray into the hot gas, where it is instantly vaporized, producing large volumes of steam,

IOO

Which are discharged from the chamber c by means of the pipe f. If a single tube is ignited, as soon as the material therein has been consumed the material in another tube is ig nited in a similar manner, so that the process of forming steam continues without interruption.

The apparatus herein shown and described is covered by an application for Letters Patent led by me November 7, 1896, and given Serial No. 611,378, and is therefore not claimed herein.

I do not, however, limit myself to the use of my improved combustible compound in the manner described or in connection with the apparatus herein referred to.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is l. The improved combustible compound or DAVID DUNCAN ESSON.

lVitnesses:

JOHN E. BOUSFIELD, C. G. REDFERN. 

